Inside the Star

Man to live on beer alone for Lent

J. Wilson, an editor and beer blogger in Adams County, Iowa, who describes himself as a “non-denominational” Christian, is planning to subsist solely on a 288-calorie specially brewed beer for the 46 days of Lent.DIET

J. Wilson, an editor and beer blogger in Adams County, Iowa, is planning to consume only beer for the 46 days of lent. He's subsisting on a special brew that has 288 calories.

By:Brendan KennedyStaff Reporter, Published on Mon Mar 14 2011

An Iowa man who is subsisting solely on beer for the duration of Lent says he is trying to combat the “teetotalling, neo-prohibitionist tendencies” of some elements of Christianity while also paying homage to the beer-making Bavarian monks of the Middle Ages.

“I hope beer lovers learn something reasonable about Christianity, and I hope Christians learn something reasonable about beer,” J. Wilson, 38, writes in the first entry of his blog, Diary of a Part-time Monk, where he is chronicling his 46-day “journey.”

Wilson, an editor at the weekly Adams County Free Press, plans to write a book about the experience.

Modelled on the liquid fasts practised by German monks in the 17th century, on weekdays he drinks four 12-ounce (355 mL) beers, each with 288 calories and a 6.67-per-cent alcohol content. On weekends, five beers are allowed.

Wilson's regimen isn't the only instance of Lenten sacrifice, with news reports that some individuals have forsworn Facebook or Twitter between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.

“You're not going to Hell if you drink a beer,” says Wilson, who describes himself as a “non-denominational” Christian.

His purpose is to give Christians a “reality check” and a history lesson. “Back in the Middle Ages — and far beyond that — the Church and beer were very linked.”

A blogger (brewvana.wordpress.com/beer) and home brewer, Wilson collaborated with Eric Sorensen, senior brewer at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Des Moines to create his Lenten beer, called the Illuminator Doppelbock. It is crafted in the traditional doppelbock style first brewed by the Paulaner monks from Cloister Neudeck ob der Au in Munich and is often described as “liquid bread.”

Sorensen let Wilson make the beer at no cost because he has “a lot personally invested in it,” Sorensen says in a video on Wilson's blog.

The monks, who arrived in Germany from Italy in the 17th century, took the popular bock beer of the day and “kicked it up a notch,” by adding more grain to help them survive their extended fasts, Wilson explains.

Wilson describes the beer as “bold, full-bodied” and “bready, with some sweetness.”

Suffice to say, his experiment probably wouldn't work with a standard light beer, which usually has little more than 100 calories.

On Monday, when he spoke to the Star, he was six days into the fast. He had already lost 11 pounds — going from 160 to 149 pounds — but aside from a headache on the first two days, he says he feels great.

“Honestly I'm not hungry-hungry. What I've found, though, is that aromas will trigger a pretty serious desire.”

The beer-only exercise, he says, has already taught him the difference between hunger and desire: “I'm not hungry ...But when I smell stuff, boy do I desire that chicken-fried steak.”

Wilson isn't out to get inebriated, but at the same time he is a realist. He is, let us remember, drinking four alcohol-heavy beers a day on an empty stomach.

“It's not a hammer-fest. But if you walk in the rain, you're going to get wet. I understand this.”

He staggers his “meals” so he can do his job and, if necessary, drive.

Wilson, who has two adolescent sons, says his wife is supportive.

“She has been around me for 16 years now so she knows all my wild and interesting ideas, so she's certainly used to that facet of my personality.”

This is the first time he has given anything up for Lent, and he's hoping his diet will lead to contemplation and enlightenment. A doctor and a pastor are monitoring his physical and spiritual well being.

Wilson contends he is already experiencing moments of heightened focus, which he describes as “sort of like walking through a tunnel in a very good spot.”

And what does he believe is the key to a healthy appreciation of beer: balance.

“Beer's not bad, drinking way too much of it is a bad thing.”

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